THE TELEGRAPH: Poland's president Lech Kaczynski only made his fateful trip to Russia after Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, failed to invite him to formal commemorations for the Katyn massacre.
Mr Kaczynski had wanted to attend the ceremony marking the wartime massacre of thousands of Polish officers at the hands of the Soviet Union, along with Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, and Mr Putin, but received no invitation from the Russians, said Pawel Kuglarz, a close party associate of the late president.
Feeling snubbed, but wanting to pay his respect to the massacre's victims, President Kaczynski decided to hold his own ceremony on Saturday, three days after the event hosted by Mr Putin.
But disaster struck when the aircraft carrying President Kaczynski crashed as it approached Smolensk airport in western Russia, killing all 96 on board.
The details to what lay behind President Kaczynski's decision to travel to Russia emerged as Warsaw welcomed home the body of his wife Maria, who also died in the accident. As a sign of the deep, yet dignified, grief that still grips the Polish nation, thousands of people lined the capital's streets to say goodbye to the respected first lady, who now lies in state alongside the body of her husband.
Polish authorities have announced that both Lech and Maria Kaczynski will be given a state funeral on Sunday afternoon. >>> Matthew Day in Warsaw | Tuesday, April 13, 2010
